Getting started

For Planning Permit Applicants

BESS has been designed with online help and guidance to allow you to work progressively through the assessment, and experiment with potential improvements along the way.

BESS is the recommended tool under the Sustainable Design Assessment in the Planning Process (SDAPP) framework, which is used by a growing number of Victorian local governments. Under SDAPP, planning permit applicants submit information about the environmental sustainability of their new development. BESS can assess single houses, townhouse developments, apartment buildings, large non-residential or mixed use developments.

BESS becomes more complex with the complexity of the development. For single houses or renovations, no prior experience is required to use BESS. However, you will always benefit from using professionals (architects or building designers) with sustainability credentials. For multi-unit, non-residential and mixed use developments, an ESD professional should be engaged to prepare the BESS assessment and to advise on the project from the concept design phase.